1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a high capacity grass mowing machine and particularly to a grass mowing machine capable of recovering a maximum amount of grass clippings for use as forage.
Turf nurserys having large areas of grass under cultivation yield as a by-product great amounts of grass clippings. Grass clippings have heretofore posed a disposal problem. However, the forage value of grass clippings has been recognized particularly as a feed for poultry.
Grass clipppings as forage presents special handling problems. It has been found that dehydration provides the best method of preservation in preparation for storage and shipping using conventional means.
A major obstacle in developing a practical and economically feasible forage processing system has been a need for an apparatus capable of efficiently harvesting the grass clippings, and in particular what has been needed is an implement suitable for cutting a large amount of grass quickly and with minimal damage to the clippings, thoroughly recovering the clippings from the ground and collecting and depositing collected clippings in a transport vehicle. Moreover, the implement must be simple and reliable enough to be able to operate in widely varying ground conditions (e.g., wet and dry) without damaging the turf while delivering the harvested product in the freshest possible useable condition for further processing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Harvesting machines having systems for picking up materials on conveyors and delivering them to containers are well-known. However, high volume grass mowing and harvesting apparatus have not been known.
Ganged lawnmowers are known as for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,184. Therein, a mower frame is described which is adapted to be attached to a tractor for towing. There is however no means disclosed for recovering all or substantially all of the grass clippings for further processing. U.S. Pat. No. 3,221,483 discloses a lawn cutting implement with gathering means. Therein is disclosed a raking and sweeping implement coupled to a conveyor mechanism and a collecting container. The implement disclosed therein is adapted to be towed by a pulling vehicle such as a tractor.